1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of diving equipment and more particularly to a dive mask which employs a soft skirt to channel air bubbles away from the line of sight of the diver.
2. Prior Art
The concept of a dive mask having a configuration for channeling purged air bubbles away from the diver's line of sight, is not new. U.S. Pat. No. 4,856,120 to Dennis Hart discloses such a mask. While this prior art dive mask provides the advantage of preventing air bubbles from obscuring the diver's vision, it also presents a significant disadvantage. More specifically, the additional channeling structure of the aforementioned prior art mask, prevents external access to the diver's nose with the mask in place. During a typical dive, it is relatively common for the diver to create increased internal pressure in his or her nasal and ear passages to equalize and clear pressure-induced inner ear clogging which can otherwise become uncomfortable and even painful. To perform this simple maneuver, the diver must close his or her nostrils to allow pressure build-up. Without closure of the nostrils, any attempted pressure increase is thwarted by air escape through the nose. Closing the nostrils is preferably accomplished by the diver simply grasping his or her nose between the thumb and forefinger of one hand and squeezing to close his or her nasal passages for the few seconds it takes to build pressure to clear the ears. However, to accomplish this apparently simple task, there cannot be any hard, inflexible surfaces between the diver's nose and the diver's hand. Unfortunately the mask disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,856,120 does, in fact, comprise a hard, inflexible surface immediately adjacent the diver's nose which prevents access in the mariner described especially when using a scuba regulator. As a result, to clear the ears while wearing this prior art mask, the diver must displace the mask sufficiently to gain direct access to his or her nose and then subsequently employ well-known techniques to rid the mask of water.
It therefore would be highly advantageous to provide a dive mask having a lower channel for steering air bubbles away from a diver's line of sight while still providing a structure which permits the diver to close his or her nostrils to momentarily build pressure in ear passages. It would be also highly desirable to provide an aesthetically pleasing purge and channeling structure which does not burden the appearance of the underlying mask with a bulky, unappealing mass or significantly increase the weight or profile of the mask.